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Fitness Articles |
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10 Totally Unhealthy Eating Behaviors To Avoid! 10 Totally Unhealthy Eating Behaviors To Avoid! Take Control of Your Metabolism Weight Problems - Facts You May Not Know The Fountain of Youth Within US! Nutrition as an Attention Deficit Disorder How To Get Slim With Healthy Eating Habits Health Spas: Exercise Your Rights Who's Responsible For Your Health? Success with Strength Training Exercise
on Long Flights Essential
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Small,
Gradual Changes: An Effective Alternative If
your weight management program is to be a success, everything you eat and
every exercise you do must be a pleasurable experience. If you're not
enjoying yourself, it is unlikely that you'll continue your program. It's
that simple. These
small, gradual changes are not painful or overwhelming but rather the core
of an exciting lifestyle that you will look forward to. GHF
offers easy-to-understand and easy-to-follow recommendations on shopping
for and cooking low-fat healthy foods. We'll also discuss simple ways of
reducing the fat in the foods you choose when you eat out. You'll learn
about the many nonfat and low-fat ingredients that can reduce the fat in
your favorite recipes without reducing taste. We'll explain why you should
reduce dietary fat and just how much fat your daily diet should include
for your optimum health. You'll also learn the roles that carbohydrates,
protein, fiber, and water play in an effective weight management program. In
addition, GHF will provide you with over 175 healthy recipes, low in fat
and high in nutritional value. We know, however, that foods must be more
than just healthy. They must also be delicious and visually appealing, or
you probably won't eat them. The foods must also be quick and easy to
prepare, or you probably won't make them. The GHF recipes are foods you'll
enjoy again and again. Many
cookbooks and diet programs reduce the fat in recipes by using artificial
sweeteners and fat substitutes; they may also rely on highly refined and
processed foods. Unfortunately, these practices compromise nutrition. On
the other hand, the GHF recommendations are easy-to-follow recipes for
delicious, well-balanced meals. They include techniques for reducing the
fat and increasing the
nutritional value of your own favorite foods. Cardiovascular
Exercise and Strength Training Are Crucial Many
so-called healthy diets are too narrow, focusing as they do solely on
nutrition and calorie reduction. They tend to ignore the other two vital
components of an effective weight management program: cardiovascular
exercise and strength training. Someone with the healthiest possible
eating habits will still have a hard time achieving the desired results of
body shape and fitness without an effective exercise program because
success--and good health in general--depends on a safe and effective
combination of cardiovascular fitness and stronger bones and muscles. That
is why GHF offers an integrated program. The
Dangers of Excess Body Fat Most
people's primary motivation for weight management is to improve their
appearance. Equally important, however, are the many other benefits of
proper nutrition and regular exercise. Weight
management through reduction of excess body fat plays a vital role in
maintaining good health and fighting disease. In fact, medical evidence
shows that obesity poses a major threat to health and longevity. (The most
common definition of obesity is more than 25 percent body fat for men and
more than 32 percent for women.) An estimated one in three Americans has
some excess body fat; an estimated 20 percent are obese. Excess
body fat is linked to major physical threats like heart disease, cancer,
and diabetes. (Three out of four Americans die of either heart disease or
cancer each year; according to the National Health and Nutrition
Examination survey, approximately 80 percent of those deaths are
associated with life-style factors, including inactivity.) For
example, if you're obese, it takes more energy for you to breathe because
your heart has to work harder to pump blood to the lungs and to the excess
fat throughout the body. This increased work load can cause your heart to
become enlarged and can result in high blood pressure and life-threatening
erratic heartbeats. Obese
people also tend to have high cholesterol levels, making them more prone
to arteriosclerosis, a narrowing of the arteries by deposits of plaque.
This becomes life-threatening when blood vessels become so narrow or
blocked that vital organs like the brain, heart or kidneys are deprived of
blood. Additionally, the narrowing of the blood vessels forces the heart
to pump harder, and blood pressure rises. High blood pressure itself poses
several health risks, including heart attack, kidney failure, and stroke.
About 25 percent of all heart and blood vessel problems are associated
with obesity. Clinical
studies have found a relationship between excess body fat and the
incidence of cancer. By itself, body fat is thought to be a storage place
for carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) in both men and women. In
women, excess body fat has been linked to a higher rate of breast and
uterine cancer; in men, the threat comes from colon and prostate cancer.
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